Professor Warren Mengis: The People’s Professor

Retired LSU Law Center professor Warren Mengis passed away Monday, December 5 in Baton Rouge. Known for his warm and affectionate smile, Professor Mengis taught full time at the Law Center for 26 years, retiring in May 2008.

“Warren Mengis was one of the most popular teachers ever to grace the halls of our law school,” said Chancellor Jack Weiss. “Students flocked to his courses, and his faculty colleagues held him in high esteem. Professor Mengis will always be remembered fondly and sorely missed.”

Vice Chancellor Cheney Joseph, longtime friend and colleague of Professor Mengis, said, “Warren Mengis exemplified the highest aspirations of the legal profession. He dedicated his active life to the service of his family, his church, his country, his community, his profession, his law school, and his students. Warren won the favorite professor award so often the students stopped giving the award. He was known affectionately as “The People’s Professor” by our students – and I always loved to tell him how many seconds, not minutes, it took for his classes to reach the maximum registration numbers.”

Professor Mengis graduated from LSU Law School in 1950. Shortly after graduation, Mengis established a law practice in Baton Rouge with fellow classmate and friend, former Louisiana Supreme Court Justice, Luther Cole. Mengis was appointed as an adjunct professor at the Law Center in 1977. He joined the faculty full-time in 1982.